Skiving machine



Feb', 5 1924.

J. G. NORTON SKI-VING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. .'50 1919 3Sheets-Sheet 1' /M/E/vrm J. G. NORTON sKIvING MACHINE feb. s, 19245.

fiile@ Jan. so.

l I iinal 1919 `3 Sheets-Sheet 3 am. w@ F Patented Feb. 5, 1924.

JAMES G. NORTON, 0F ELTINGVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR `T0`ll'.1\Tll-'IL}E'D SHOE MA- CHINERY CRPORATION, OF PATEBSON, `NEWJERSEY, -A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

skivrne 1vLACHIi\In` Continuation of application Serial No. 274,042,iiled January 30, 1919. This application filed December 4,

. 1920. Serial No. 428,260.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that 1 JAMES G. Noiz'mN, 'a citizen of the United States,residing at Eltinoville, S. l., in the county of Richmond and Siate ofNew York, have invented certain Improvements in Skiving Machines, ofwhich, the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawingsindicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon stock and ishereinillustrated as embodied in a machine for eveningr soles, heel lifts andsimilar articles which" are used in the manufacture of boots and shoes.

In application Ser. No, 274,042, filed in my name, there is disclosed amethod of grading heel lifts and similar articles which com prises, inone of its aspects, sorting the lifts into groups the individual membersof which have the same thickness-difference, that is, the samedifference'v in thickness between their thickest yandtheir thinnestlocalities, and then running the members of each group through anevening machine which is set, once for each group, so that it willremove from each lift a skivlng the maximum thickness of which is equalto the thickness-difference of the lift. In this wayfthere is producedfrom each heel lift blank, irrespective of its average thickness as wellas ofits thiclmess-diderence, a lift of the greatest possible uniformthickness.

The general object of the present inven tion is to provide al machine ofthis type. According to one 'feature of the invention the machine has acutter and two members for directing one by one a series of blanks ofuneven thickness to the cutter, meansbeing provided for so adjusting andoperating the machine that a series of skivings, of u neven thicknesseachv having the samemaXimum thickness will be removed from the blanksof the series. In the illustrative machine the two members which gripand feed the blanks are respectively a gage member and a feed member.The gage member comprises a plurality of pressers the blank-engagingfaces of which lie normally in a common plane and a carrier'or blockinwhich these pressers are yieldingly mounted. The feed member comprisesa second block or carrier in which a series of feed rolls are mounted onfixed axes. In the operation of the machine the gage member is adjustedmanually into position such that when a blank is forced against itsyielding pressers and fed to the knife by the rolls of the feed member,an uneven skiving of the desired maximum thickness will be removed fromeach blank, said maximum thickness being equal to thethickness-difference of the blank.

rlhis and other features of the invention, including certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodiedin` an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now tothe accompanying drawings,

Figure` l is a side elevation of a machine in which the presentinvention is embodied;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine; 7

Figure 3 is a perspective of the upper blank-engaging or gage member;

Figurel is a perspective of the lower blank-engaging or feed member, and

Figure 5 is a section through the `two members showing a blank inprocess of bein skived.

eferring more particularly to Figure l,

there is mounted on a suitable bed `formed on the frame of the machine askiving knife 7 which is held in adjusted position by capscrews one ofwhich is indicated at 9, adjusting screws, oneof which is shown at 1l,being provided for adjusting the knife into proper position. Themounting of the knife is old and'ivell known and will not be describedfurther than to explain that slots in the knife, through which the capscrews pass, permit the adjustment.

Located to engage the upper side of a blank 100 is a gageinember whichis urged upwardly at Vall times by springs 15 and maybe adjusteddownwardly by turning a hand, wheel 37. Referring ,now moreparticularlyto Figure 3 with occasional references 4to"liigure's 1, 2and', the gage member comprisesafcarrier in the form of a block 17having studs 19, oneat each of its four corners, `-to be received by theupper ends of the coiled spingsllti.` 4Mounted in suitable verticalguide-ways in the block 17 are a plurality of holders 2 1 (see Fig. 5);and

in each holder is rotatably mounted a presser roll 23.,` The stem ofeach holder 21 extends up through a bore in the block 17 and hasthreaded upon its upper end a nut 25,`each stem being encircled by acoiled spring 127 which exerts at all times a force to pushitsrespective carrier 21 and roll 23 downwardly. The nuts 25 limit suchdownward movement and are so adjusted that, when no blank is beingengaged, the lower elements of the rolls 23 lie in a common horizontalplane. Extending upwardly from the block 17 are two slides 27 which arelocated in suitable guideways formed in the frame of the machine andheld in place by plates 29. The upper ends of the slides 27 are beveledas shown and are engaged by wedges 31 formed at opposite ends of ahorizontal slide-bar 33, saidA bar having an eye threaded to receive ascrew 35 which is held from longit-udinal movement` but may be rotatedby means of the hand wheel 37 which is fast to one end of the screw. Thesprings 15 hold the beveled upper ends of the slides 27 up against thewedges 31 so thatV when the hand wheel is L turned in one direction theupper blank-engaging member comprising the block 17 and rolls 23 israised and, when the wheel is turned in the other direction, theblankengaging member is lowered. In the operation of the machine, aswill presently be explained, when a group of blanks are to be operatedupon the members of which each have the same thickness-difference, theupper blank-engaging member is set in such position that the distancefrom the plane of the cut of the knife to the plane which would containthe lower elements of the rolls 2.3, if said rolls were in their`uppermost positions, is equal to the amount of thisthiclmess-difi'erence. `In order to facilitate the adjustment of theupper blank-engaging member, a pointer 39, pivoted at 41 to a stationarycross-bar 43 and having a forked lower end which embraces a pin 45 onthe slide-bar 33, co-operates with a scale 46 mounted on the cross-bar.rlhe thickness of soles, heel lifts etc. is commonly measuredin ironsfand fractions thereof, an iron being one forty-eighth of an inch; andthe scale and pointer are constructed and arranged to indicate distancein irons from the `plane of the cut of t-he knife to the plane of thelower elements of the rolls 23 when said rolls are in their uppermostpositions. Consequently, if the thickness-difference of the member ofany given group of blanks is known, all the operator has to do, in orderto set the machine for skiving those blanks, is to turn the handwheeluntil the pointer and scale indicate the amount of thatthickness-difference.

The lower blank-engaging member, which for convenience will be referredto as the feed member, comprises a block 47 having unyieldingly mountedtherein a plurality of rollsV 49 which `are rotated continuously in acounter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, so as to feed theblank to the knife. The block 47 has depending from its under side agenerally ll-shaped slide 51, the upright arms of which are slidable insuitable guideways formed in the frame of the machine. EXtendingvertically between the horizontal portion or base of the 'U-shapedmember 51 and the block 47 and integral with the block and member is acylindrical brace 53 in which is mounted a heavy spring 55 and a plunger57, there being driven into the plunger a pin 59 which eX- tends into aslot formed in the cylindrical brace. Vhen a blank is being fed intoposition between the upper and the .lower blank-engaging members, thelower member is in lowered position as shown in Fig. 1; but before theforward edge of the blank reaches the knife, the lower member is raisedso as to grip the blank between the two members and hold it so grippedduring the skiving operation, this latter position of parts being ,shownin Fig. 5.

The raising and lowering of the lower blank-engaging members is effectedthrough the plunger 57. The lower end of this plunger is formed with twoeyes to receive a pivot pin 61'which also passes through a bore in theupper end of the upper lever 63 of a toggle, the lower end of said upperlever being pivoted at 65 to the upper end of a lower lever 67, saidlower lever having a hub in the form of a sleeve 71. This sleeve ispinned at 73 toa rockshaft v75 to the outer end of which is pinned acrank-arm 77, the construction being such that when the crank-arm isoscillated the toggle will be alternately straightened to raise thelower blank-engaging member and broken to permit it to fall. Pivoted tothe crank-arm at 79 is a connecting-rod 31 haiving at its upper `end asubstantially square opening to receive a cam S2 which is fast totheshaft 83 to which a driving pulley 85 is fast. Rotation of the pulleywill therefore raise and lower the connecting-rod 81 and, through thetoggle mechanism, effectraising and lowering of the lower blank-engagingmember.

The group of blanks, each of which has the same thickness-diiference, isplaced in superposed relation in a magazine 85, which may be of anyapproved construction. ln order to feed the blanks one by one from themagazine, a feed slide 87 is provided, having on its under side a rackadapted to be actuated by a toothed sector 89 formed upon the upper endof an arm 91. arm is fast to the middle of a rock-shaft 93 toone end ofwhich is pinned an arm 95. A rod 97 is pivoted at one end to the arm andat the other to the connecting rod 81.

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Referring again to the cam 82 as it appears in Fig. l, noting that itmoves in the direction indicated by the arrow and ithat its upper face98 (in the position shown) is struck on a radius about the axis of theshaft 83, its effect upon the feed `slide and upon the lowerblank-engaging member is as follows: ln the position shown, it hasraised the connecting-rod 8l, with consequent lowering of the lowerblank-engaging member, and is holding it raised. 'At the same time, itVhas swung the connecting-rod part way toward the left and hasconsequently partially fed a blank into place be- "i" tween the blankengaging'members. It is the leading corner 99 `of `the cam which causesthe various movements of the connecting rod 8l. ln the position shown,as has vbeen explained, this `corner is swinging the rod to the left andconsequently causing the feeding of a blank while the radial face 98 ismaintaining the connecting rod raised and consequently the lowerblank-engaging member in lowered position. As the cam v continues itsrotation, the feeding of the blank is completed, the radial face 98holding the connecting-rod 8l raised. Next the leading corner 99 pushesthe connecting-rod downwardly thereby raising the lower blank-engagingmember to press the blank against the rolls 28 the radial face 98holding the connecting-rod to the left. The leading corner 99 thenswings the connectingrod to the right, thus returning the feedslide toits initial position, the radial face 98 during this movement serving tohold the connecting-rod in lowered position and consequently the lowerblank-engaging member in raised position while theysvkiving operation istaking place. The leading corner 99 next moves thel connecting rodupwardly thereby lowering the lower blank-engaging member into theposition shown, the radial face 98 maintaining the feed slide in itsright-hand positionl during this movement. Thereafter the leading corner9 9 starts the feeding of a. succeeding blank while the .lowerblank-engaging member is held in its lowered position. This completesthe cycle which is repeated as long as the pulley is rotated.

The operation of the cam 82 has been described for convenience'throughone complete cycle without reference to certain mechanism for lockingthe loweriblanl-engagging member. After the blank has'been fed intoposition to be skived and the lower blank-engaging member has beenraised to grip and' Vfeed it, it is desirable that said member be lockedfirmly in its raised posi- .tion` held rigidity against'movement eithertoward or away from the knife until the skiving has been completed, yandthereafter released sothat it Tdrop into its lowered position.A In orderto -'lockthe'"lovver blankengaging member from downward movement duringthe cutting operation, there are formed in the walls of the guideways inwhich .the upright arms 5l are vertically slidable, pockets 20 having'downwardly inclined outer walls, and in each pocket is located a roller22. lll/lith the construction thus far described it will be clear thatthe lower' blank-engaging member may be freely raised but that therollers 22 will look it against being loweredy until they are pushedupwardly in their pockets. Extending up into each pocket is a rod 24,the lower end of which is adapted to be engaged by a tappet 26, the stemof which is threaded into the outer end of a lever 28 which is pivotedto the frame of the machine at 80. The inner ends of the -two levers 28are received in a groove formed in a collar which is part of the plunger57. lllhen the plunger, and consequently the lower blank-engaging memberis in lowered position, as shown, the rollers 22 rest upon the upperends of the rods 24. YVhen, however, the plunger moves upwardly, theouter ends of the levers 28 move downwardly, thus permitting the upperends of the rods 24 to be withdrawn from the pockets 20. Under theseconditions the rollers 22 form one-way locks which prevent the lowerblank-engaging member from moving downwardly; and consequently saidvmember remains locked from downward movement in any position to which itis raised until the plunger 5T is moved downwardly whereupon the rods24C are projected upwardly to free the rollers 22 and permit. the lowerblankengaging member to fall. In order to lock the lower blank-engagingmember from upward movement during the cutting operation there arepivoted in slots in the upright slides 5l of the lower blank-engagingmember two eccentric friction pawls 40, the operative faces of which arearranged to engage at the proper time outer walls 42 of vthe lguidewaysin the frame of the machine in which the slides 51 are mounted. Througha perforation in the tail of each pawl passes loosely the upper end of arod LM, the lower ends of these rods being pivoted respectively `to thearms 28. Springs 48 encircle the rods; and'adjusting nuts 50, by turningwhich the angular' positions of the pawls may 'be varied, are threadedupon the upper ends of the rods above the tails of the eccentric pawls.In the position of parts shown in the figures, the lower blank-engagingmember i7 is in its lowered position. Considering now the upwardmovement of the plunger 57, which is produced by the straightening ofthe toggle levers 63, 67, this movement may be considered to take placein two stages. In the first stage the blank-engaging member is raiseduntil it presses the blank 100 firmly up against the rolls 23 of theupper blank-engaging member. In the second stage, which is much theshorter one, the blank-engaging member 47 remains stationary while thespring 55 is compressed more or less. During the first stage theoperative faces of the eccentric pawls' 40 are not moved into lockingengagement with the walls 42, and consequently there is nothing toprevent the upward movement of the blank-engaging member 47. During thesecond stage of the upward movement of the plunger 57, however, thepawls 40 are forced into firm engagement with the walls 42, and anyfurther upward movement which the lower blank-engaging member 47 mightotherwise make is prevented. The pawls 40 may be timed properly bymanipulating the nuts 50.

The lower blank-engaging member is thus held during the skivingoperation from upward movement by the pawls 40 and from downwardmovement by the rollers 22. After the completion of the skivingoperation the plunger 57 is pulled downwardly, this downward movementserving first to release the rollers and free the pawls and then topermit the` lower blank-engaging member 47 to fall into the positionshown.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4 and 1, the mechanism forrotating the feed rolls 49 will be described. Five such rolls are shownand, for convenience, they will be referred to as the first to the fifthroll beginning with the forward one which is farthest from the knife.The first, third and fifth rolls have keyed upon their shafts gears 101while the second and fourth rolls have loosely mounted upon their shaftsgears 103, all five gears 101, 103 being of the same size and arrangedto mesh one with another. On that end of the shaft of the third rollwhich is remote from its gear 101 is fast an internal gear 105, andmeshing with this gear are two gears 107 which are fast respectively tothe shafts of the second and fourth rolls. Vith this construction,rotation of that gear 101 which is fast to the shaft of the fifth rollwill cause all of the rolls to rotate in the same direction. Meshingwith this last-named gear 101 is a gear 109 rotatable about a pivot 111which connects two links 113,115, the upper end of the link 113 having abore to receive the shaft of the fifth roll 101, and the rear orleft-hand end of the link 115 having a bore to receive the shaft 83. Agear 117, which is fast to the shaft 83, meshes with the gear 109. Withthis construction it will be seen that the raising and lowering of thelower blankengaging member does not disturb the mesh of the variousgears, and that consequently the rolls 49 are rotated continuously insuch a direction as to advance a blank to the knife as soon as they havepushed the blank into firm contact with the rolls 23 of the upperblank-engaging member.

Considering now more in detail the setting and operation of the skivingmechanism, it will be understood that the blanks which are to be skivedhave previously been sorted into groups each member of which has thesame thiclmess-diiference as have the others, although the blanks maydiffer greatly in their actual or average thicknesses. Blanks of onesuch group are now placed in the magazine, andthe upper blankengagingmember adjusted by means of the hand wheel 16 until the pointer 45indicates the proper mark on the scale. rlhe machine is then started,the upper blank-engaging member being maintained in its adjustedposition until all the blanks of a particular group have been runthrough the machine. As each blank is fed between the upper and lowerblank-engaging` members,v the lower member is raised yieldingly throughthe I heavy spring 55 until it forces the blank firmly against the rolls23 of the upper member and is itself locked against movement eithertoward or from the plane of the cut of the knife. The blank now liesfiat upon the upper elements of the feed rolls 49, being held down uponthese rolls by the presser rolls 23, the supporting springs 127 of whichare strong enough to accomplish such holding. The lower face of theblank is thus held in a horizontal plane which is parallel to the planeof `the cut of the knife so that the finished article, which eventuallypasses beneath the knife, will be of a uniform thickness throughout. Theupper face of the blank does not lie in a horizontal plane but in aninclined plane, if the blank is regularly tapered from end to end, or atvarious levels if there are thick spots separated by thin spots.Assuming, for convenience of explanation, that the blank is thickest atits leading edge and tapers regularly to its following edge, the presserroll 23 nearest the knife will at first be pushed up to the limit of itsupward movement so as to be no longer yielding, and the remaining rolls23 will extend downwardly each more than the preceding one. The chip orskiving removed by the knife in this case will be thicker at the leadingend than at the following end, the finished article being of a uniformthickness throughout approximately equal to the distance between theplane of the cut of the knife and the plane of the upper elements of therolls 49. lt should be noted that after the lower blank-engaging memberhas been pushed up against the blank to grip and feed it tothe knife,the distance from the plane of the upper elements of the feed rolls 49to the lower element of that presser roll 23 `which is pushed up to thelimit of its upward movement and is therefore pressing rigidly againstthe blank is equal to the thickness of the thickest locality of theblank. 1t should also be Y noted that byreason ofthespring` 55, thedistance through which the lower blankengaging member is movedupwardlyin any given case depends upon the general or average thicknessot the blank which is being operated upon. j

The prior application Serial No. 274,042, which has been referred toabove, contains claims to a method of `,treating blanks in'-` cludingevening them, but contains no claims to the machine which is thereinshown and briefly described, the present application being acontinuation, so tar as common sunjcct-matter is concerned, ot thatapplication. Prior application Serial No, 415,810 led in my name, showsand describes a machine for evening one after another blanks which areheterogeneous as to their thickness-dilerences, the evening mechanism,except that it is automatically set, being similar to the eveningmechanism of the present application, and broad claims to said meehanismwithout reference to its automatic setting appear in said priorapplication.`

Although the invention has-been settforth as embodied in a particularmachin'e,vit should be understood that the invention is not limited inthe scope of its application to the particular machine which has beenshown and described.

Having thus describedfmyinvention, what I claim as new andidesiretojsecure by Letters Patent of the United States is: i i l l. A machineoit' the class described having, in combination, a cutter,jagage memberanda feed member tor gripping `one by one a series ot blankseach ofwhich has thejsame thickness di'erence and directing them to the'cutter, operator controlled means `for producing relative adjustmentbetween the gage member and the cutter tospace them apart a distanceequal tothe `amount of thickness difference, and means for thereaftermoving the eed member toward the gageimember to cause each blank to begripped and ted'in such manner that,` a skiving of uneven thickness andhaving the same maximum thickness is removed from each blank and passesbetween thegage member and the cutter. j e i j 2. A machine ,of theclass described having, in combination, acutter, a gage member and afeed member for gripping one by one a series of blanks each of which hasthe same thickness diiierence and directing. them to the cutter,operator controlled rmeansfor producing relative adjustment between thegage member and the cutter to space them apart a distance equal to theamount of thickness Aditterence, and means for thereafter moving thefeed member toward the gage member and torlocking` it ,in a positiondetermined in each case by the 4maximum thickness of the particularblank engaged.

blanks and direct thc-Into the cutter, means for producing relativeadjustment between one member and the cutter and for holding said memberandcutter against movement of separation inl their relatively adjustedposition, andmean-s for compelling the other member to movetoward andfrom the relatively adjustedmember and cutter once for each blank passedthrough the machine while maintainingsaid relative adjustment.

4. A machine; of the class described having, in combination, a cutter,two members adapted to engage one by one a series of blanks and directthem"` to the cutter, means for producing relatii'fe adjustment betweenone member and the cutter and for holding said .memberand cutter iixedagainst movement ot separation in; their` relatively adjustedposition.,` and. power-operated means for compelling the other' memberto move toward and` from .the relatively adjusted memberA andcutteuonce"forV each blank passed through themachinefwhile maintainingsaid relative adjustment. i

' 5. A ma'chinevot the class described having, in combination, a cutter,twomembers adapted to-engage a series of blanksone by one anddirect themto thecutter, means for adjusting one member into a desired positionwith respect to the cutter and for holding it so that itcannotibe movedaway from the cutter, and means for compelling the other member to movetoward and from theadjusted `member once foreach blank passed throughthe machine while said adjusted member remains in its adjusted posi'-tion.` Y j 6.' lA machine; of the class described having,gincombination, a cutter, two members adapted to engage Va `series ofblanks one by one and direct themto the cutter, means for adjusting onemember into a desired posi` tion `with respect to the cutter and forholding .it so that it cannot be moved away from thecutter,andpower-operated means for compelling the other member to move towardandv from the adjusted member once for each blank passed through themachine while said adjusted member remains in its adjusted position. e

7. A machine of the class described hav'- ing, in` combination, amagazine for a stack of blanks, means for feeding the blanks one by onefrom the magazine, a cutter, two members arranged to receivebetween themeach blank from the magazine and support it during the cuttingoperation, means whereby relative adjustment between the cutter and onemember` may be produced to bring said member and cutter into al desiredspaced relation, -andmeansacting inn timed relation with the feedingmeans for moving the other llO member toward the relatively adjustedmember to effect gripping and feeding of each blank and for thereaftermoving said other member away from the relatively adjusted member topermit the next blank to be fed between the member, while maintainingthe spaced relation betweenthe first-named member and the cutterunchanged.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination7 a cut-ter, agage member between which and the cutter the waste skivings pass, a feedmember between which and the cutter the finished blanks pass, means forrelatively adjusting the gage member and cutter into a given spacedrelation and for holding them in said relation, means for alternatelylowering and `raising the feed member, and means for feeding blankssuccessively between the members while the feed member is in loweredposition.

9. A machine for evening the members of a group of blanks which areheterogeneous in thickness but have the same thicknessdifference havingin combination, a cutter, two blank-engaging members for directing theblanks one by one to the cutter, means whereby one member and the cuttermay be relatively adjusted in accordance with the thickness-diiferenceof the blanks and held in such adjustment against movement ofseparation, and means for repeatedly compelling relative movement ofapproach and separation between the adjusted cutter and member and theother member once for each blank operated upon.

10. A machine for evening the members of a group of blanks which areheterogeneous in thickness but of the same thicknessdifference havin incombination a cutter, two blank-engaging members for directing theblanks to the cutter, means for adjusting one of said members into suchposition that its blank-engaging face is spaced from the cutter adistance equal to the amount of thickness-difference of the blanks andfor holding it set in such position, means for feeding blanks one by onebetween the members and means for moving the other member toward theadjusted member to-grip each blank during the skiving operation and awayfrom the adjusted member in time to permit a succeeding blank to be fedbe-` tween the members. I

11. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a cutter,two members for advancing a blank to the cutter, manually controlledmeans for adjusting one member in a direction transverse to the plane ofthe cut and for holding it in adjusted position against movement awayfrom the cutter until a subsequent manual adjustment is made, means forfeeding blanks one by one between the members, and means for moving theother member toward the adjusted member to press each blank against theadjusted member during the cutting operation and for thereafter movingsaid other member away from the adjusted ,member to permit a succeedingblank to be fed between the members while maintaining the adjustedmember in its -adjusted position.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a cutterfor removing skivings from a series of blanks, a gage member, means forholding the gage member in a fixed relation to the cutter, a feed memberwhich is at times spaced from the gage member a distance greater thanthe thickness of the thickest blank to be operated upon, and means forcompelling the feed member to move toward and from the gage member oncefor each blank passed through the machine while maintaining the fixedrelation of the gage member and the cutter.

13. A machine for skiving a blank of uneven thickness thethickness-difference of which is known having, in combination, a cutter,two blank-engaging members, means whereby relative adjustment betweenone member and the cutter may be produced, means for indicating when insuch adjustment the said member and cutter are so spaced that theskiving which will be removed will have a maximum thickness equal to thethickness-difference of the blank and means for operating the otherblank-engaging member in such manner as to cause the blank to be evenedby the removal of the aforementionedy skiving.

14C. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a cutter,two members for gripping one by one a series of blanks each of which hasthe same thickness difference and directing them to the cutter,operator-controlled means adapted to be manipulated once for the wholeseries for producing relative adjustment between one member and thecutter to space them apart a distance equal to the amount of thethickness dierence, and means for thereafter moving the other membertoward the firstnamed member and for locking it in a position determinedin each case by the thickness of the particular blankwhich is passingthrough the machine. f

15. A machine for evening a series of blanks the members of which havethe same thickness difference by removing from each blank a skiving themaximum thickness of which is in each case the same having, incombination, a magazine for the blanks, a cutter, a gage member and afeed member located between the magazine and the cutter,operator-controlled means for adjusting the gage member to and holdingit during the evening of the whole series of blanks in a position spacedfrom the cutter a distance equal to the thickness difference, means foradvancing a blank into a position between Leeaeoe the gage member andfeed member, means for moving the feed member toward the gage member tocause the blank to be gripped and fed to the knife, and means forlocking the feed member once for each blank in a position determined bythe thickness of the particular blank Which is passing thro-ugh themachine.

16. A machine for evening a blank of uneven thickness, the thicknessdierence of which is known, having, in combination, a cutter, a gagemember comprising a base and a plurality of rolls yieldingly mountedthere,- in located at one side of the plane of the cutand in advance ofthe cutter and some in admember and cutter are so spaced that theskiving Which will be removed Will have a maximum thickness equal to thethicknessdifference, and means for operating the feed member in suchmanner as to cause the blank to be evened by the removal of theaforementioned skiving. j

17. A machine for evening a series of blanks Which are heterogeneous asto thickness but have each the same knovvn thickness-difference, having,in combination, a cutter, a gage member comprising a base and aplurality of rolls yieldingly mounted therein located at one side of theplane of the cut in front of the cutter and some in front of others, afeed member comprising a base and a plurality of rolls unyieldinglymounted therein located on the other side of the plane of the cut infront of the cutter and some in front of others, means for producingrelative adjustment between the gage member and the cutter in accordanceWith the known thickness-dierence and for maintaining the adjustmentduring the evening of the series, and means for moving the feed membertoward and from the gage member once for each blank passed through themachine.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JAMES eNoRToN.

